Spitting Image S Spitting Image Spitting Image was a British satirical puppet show which ran on the ITV television network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one, for editing, in 1989. The series was notorious for featuring caricatured puppets of numerous celebrities who were famous during the 1980s and 1990s. The humor was usually controversial and bitingly sharp. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , then American president Ronald Reagan and The British Royal Family were the most prominent targets, although hundreds of other celebrities were spoofed in an equally disrespectful manner. Certain countries have been inspired to have similar satirical puppet shows, based on "Spitting Image". History Development The show took several years to be developed. The original idea is credited to graphic designer Martin Lambie-Nairn, who proposed the idea of a satirical television show featuring puppets to Peter Fluck and Roger Law, two illustrators and sculptors who worked mostly in print media.

The puppets, caricaturing public figures often including British and American politicians and celebrities, were designed by Fluck and Law (who sometimes spoonerised their names as 'Luck and Flaw'). They were assisted by various young voice caricaturists including David Stoten, Steve Bendelack, Tim Watts, Pablo Bach, Christopher Sharrock (who coined the internal name for the show: "Splitting Headache") and Oscar da Costa and virtually every successful British impressionist of the time. Musical parodies were provided by Philip Pope (former member of Who Dares Wins and The Hee Bee Gee Bees) and later Steve Brown (who played the character of bandleader Glen Ponder in Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge). Beginnings As neither Lambie-Nairn, Fluck or Law had prior TV experience, they turned to others to actually produce the show. Fluck and Law brought in comedy writer and National Lampoon editor Tony Hendra, who they had met previously while working in America. Hendra in turn brought in John Lloyd, producer of the satirical sketch show Not The Nine O'Clock News. They were joined by Jon Blair, a documentary producer. They then hired Muppet puppeteer Louise Gold.

The initial development of the show was funded by entrepreneur Clive Sinclair . At the start in 1984 and 1985 the show wasn't doing well in the ratings and was nearly cancelled. As there was no availability at Central's Birmingham Studio 1, the team used Studio 2 - better known as the Crossroads Motel. Early series were recorded at Limehouse Studios in London's Docklands, now demolished. Rob Grant and Doug Naylor were brought in as head writers to try and save the show, with the informal understanding that they would be promoted to executive producers if they succeeded. By 1986, under their supervision, Spitting Image had become a popular phenomenon, even producing a number 1 hit single (the infamous Chicken Song), but producer John Lloyd was unaware of the writers' deal and refused their promotion. With the feeling that they wouldn't be able to progress on the show, the pair left (and later created Red Dwarf for BBC2). Several of the politicians found their characterisations offensive, although in subsequent interviews many were glad of the attention.

Though an appreciation of the programme's humour required more than a passing knowledge of British politics, it aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation late on Sunday nights in the late 1980s. The American NBC network aired several prime-time specials adapted from the series in the same period. Popularity and changes As the show progressed, Britain's political landscape altered. Particularly, in the early 1990s, many of the characters who had proven so popular retired from real-world politics, particularly Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, whilst others such as Michael Heseltine and Norman Tebbit became much less prominent. At the height of its popularity, Spitting Image also spun off several public exhibits of puppets and props from the series that were displayed at Covent Garden in London, Bath, and other locations. The show had a short-running dispute with the Independent Broadcasting Authority over the use of subliminal images, which are illegal on British television. In meetings, the IBA demanded that the producers at Central cease using them, to which the broadcaster replied in an on-air statement that the only way to prove their use was to record the show and analyse it frame-by-frame.

Central jokingly claimed that taping the show violated their copyright; this was not strictly accurate, as ITV companies were bound by their contracts to make available all transmitted material to the IBA upon request. Decline When Thatcher resigned in November 1990, her successor was her third chancellor, John Major . This marked a decline in the show's fortunes. In fact, the writers of the show found John Major so boring that they decided to invent an affair between him and Virginia Bottomley, a cabinet minister, and highlight their opinion of him by dressing his puppet (skin and all) entirely in shades of grey to make him appear to be on an old black-and-white TV. This was not completely implausible, as it was revealed much later that Major had indeed had an affair, but it was with Edwina Currie, whom the programme-makers had considered in the role as John Major's mistress. In an attempt to keep the show up-to-date, the show's producers changed part of its format by reducing the number of politicians and including the addition of animated sketches, from 1989 and then again from 1994.

Most notable was the use of a studio audience for the 1992 Election Special, a format which was revisited for two later episodes which were broadcast in late 1993. This was for a segment in each of these shows which featured a spoof of Question Time, in which the puppet characters took questions from the audience. The 1992 show was fronted by the puppet Robin Day, with the puppet Jeremy Paxman filling the role in the episodes broadcast on 14 November 1993 and 12 December 1993. The 1992 Election Special was the first time that Spitting Image had been performed to a studio audience since the very first episode on 26 February 1984. In 1995 however, with viewing figures in decline, production of Spitting Image was cancelled. The final series was aired during January and February 1996, so the show missed Labour's 1997 election victory. However the final episode featured a segment entitled "The Last Prophecies of Spitting Image" in which, among other things, Labour moved into Number 10.

ITV's plans of a new Spitting Image series were scrapped in 2006 after a dispute over new Ant & Dec puppets. These puppets were used to host the reviews "Best Ever Spitting Image" against Roger Law's wishes.. Broadcast dates All episodes and specials were broadcast on Sunday unless otherwise stated.

Series Series 1 : 1984 : 26 February - 17 June : 12 episodes Series 2 : 1985 : 6 January - 24 March : 11 episodes Series 3 : 1986 : 6 January - 2 Nov : 18 episodes Series 4 : 1987 : 1 November - 6 December : 6 episodes Series 5 : 1988 : 6 November - 11 December : 6 episodes Series 6 : 1989 : 11 June - 9 July : 6 episodes Series 7 : 1989 : 12 November - 17 December : 6 episodes Series 8 : 1990 : 13 May - 24 June : 6 episodes Series 9 : 1990 : 11 November - 16 December : 6 episodes Series 10 : 1991 : 14 April - 19 May : 6 episodes Series 11 : 1991 : 10 November - 15 December : 6 episodes Series 12

 : 1992 : 12 April - 17 May : 6 episodes Series 13 : 1992 : 4 October - 8 November : 6 episodes Series 14 : 1993 : 16 May - 20 June : 6 episodes Series 15 : 1993 : 7 November - 12 December : 6 episodes Series 16 : 1994 : 1 May - 5 June : 6 episodes Series 17 : 1994 : 6 November - 18 December : 7 episodes Series 18 : 1996 : 14 January - 18 February : 6 episodes Specials Down And Out In The White House : 1986 : 14 September Election Special : 1987 : Thursday 11 June A Non-Denominational Spitting Image Holiday Special : 1987 : 27 December Bumbledown - The Life and Times of Ronald Reagan : 1988 : Saturday 29 October The Sound Of Maggie : 1989 : Saturday 6 May Election Special : 

1992 : Wednesday 8 April The Spitting Image Pantomime : 1993 : 26 December Ye Olde Spitting Image : 1995 : 1 January Legacy and re-runs From October 1996 - January 1998 Spitting Image Series 1-11 were shown on UK GOLD then repeated again on UK GOLD from January - September 1998 but they were shown three times per week.

Harshly edited episodes from Series 1-3 and 7 were aired on Granada Plus from 2001-2003. Most of the puppets were later sold online at a special Amazon.com auction hosted by Sotheby's, including a specially made puppet of Osama Bin Laden which was never used in the series itself. Former producer John Lloyd was in talks with ITV in the spring of 2005 to bring Spitting Image back, but the attempt failed, reportedly over the cost of its revival and the non-involvement of Roger Law, one of the show's original creators. More recently 2DTV, incorporating some of the Spitting Image writing team, satirised celebrities in a very similar style to Spitting Image, but used cartoon animation rather than puppets. On 25 June 2006, ITV transmitted a documentary about the programme, Best Ever Spitting Image. Speculation that a new series would follow was dismissed. In February 2008, Comedy Central Extra started showing regular repeats of Spitting Image from 9pm on Tuesday evenings, with a whole weekend's worth of evenings devoted to the first two series.

Characters Politicians Spitting Image was often praised for its ability to make politicians 'recognisable' and more likable than before. Many British politicians from all parties and movements were parodied. By far the most prominent and arguably the star of the show was Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who was portrayed as a bullying, fascist tyrant and cross-dresser (she wore suits and used the urinals). What Thatcher actually thought of her puppet is unknown, and many different stories about her opinions are passed around. In the show, Thatcher asked an elderly living Adolf Hitler for advice, who watered plants on the roof of Number 9, Downing Street under the alias of "Herr Jeremy". Alongside Thatcher were her Cabinet, which included: Nigel Lawson, constantly panicking about some financial crisis he had accidentally caused. Geoffrey Howe, boring, bland and talked to sheep. Douglas Hurd, famous for his Dalek-style voice and his hair shaped like a "Mr. Whippy" ice cream. Norman Tebbit, appearing as a leather-clad skinhead who was loyal to Thatcher, referring to her as "Leader" and often beating up other politicians.

Michael Heseltine, growing more and more manic with every series (and wearing a flak jacket during his time as Defence Secretary). Leon Brittan, constantly sucking up to Thatcher. Norman Fowler, portrayed during his time as Health Secretary as a hospital-murdering Jack the Ripper -style lunatic. Cecil Parkinson, having sexual intercourse with every woman in sight. Edwina Currie, portrayed as a vampire. Paul Channon, childish and unable to tell his arse from his elbow. Kenneth Baker, slowly transforming into a slug over the series. Nicholas Ridley, constantly smoking and demolishing the countryside for houses. Kenneth Clarke, portrayed as obese and perpetually drunk despite being Minister for Health. Colin Moynihan, minuscule and child-like (in one sketch, he is called "Minister for Short" by Jimmy Hill) When Thatcher resigned at the beginning of the 1990s, her successor was her third chancellor, John Major, who was portrayed as a dull, boring and all-grey character who enjoyed nothing better than a nice meal of peas with his wife Norma.

Prior to Thatcher's resignation, John Major had been portrayed as being robotic with a spinning antenna on his head, standing behind Thatcher in the crowd of sycophant cabinet members, eager to repeat whatever insane rambling the Thatcher puppet screeched. On the other side of the house were: Neil Kinnock, the 'Welsh Windbag', talking for hours on end about anything *other* than his policies. Roy Hattersley, spitting with every word thanks to his lisp (Hattersley himself praised his puppet for actually 'putting the spit into Spitting Image'). Michael Foot, aged and senile, ending sentences with "Yes! Argh!". Tony Benn, a rampant socialist with eyes that never looked in the same direction. Ken Livingstone, whose living room was filled with salamanders and snakes Dennis Healy, with giant eyebrows, always helping Kinnock to look like a fool (accidentally or not). Gerald Kaufman, portrayed as a Hannibal Lecter-style maniac.

In earlier episodes, Arthur Scargill, who was a member of the Labour Party until 1997, appeared in his capacity as head of the National Union of Mineworkers, and was portrayed as a literally big-nosed egotist who was generally ignorant about mining. In 1994, a puppet Tony Blair made his first appearance, with a huge cheesy grin. In one sketch, he was hypnotised by a Peter Mandelson snake. The then deputy leader, John Prescott, was also portrayed as a fat bumbling assistant, along with a squeaky voiced Robin Cook and an enormous glasses wearing Jack Straw. There was also the short-lived SDP-Liberal Alliance before merging to become the Liberal Democrats with the two leaders: election-losing, populist , arrogant and undecided David Owen, complete with whining, bed-wetting David Steel in his pocket. They were soon replaced in the show by Paddy Ashdown, whose stance of "equidistance" from the two larger parties was satirised by his frequent appearance at the side of the screen during unrelated sketches, saying: "I am neither in this sketch nor not in it, but somewhere in-between". Royal family Another mainstay of Spitting Image was the royal family.

The Queen wore a CND badge, always seemed ever so slightly mad and picked clothes from rubbish bins, Prince Philip was a blunderbuss -toting Greek-obsessed buffoon permanently in naval uniform, Prince Charles was a new-age leftist pseudo-hippie, and wife Diana was a publicity-hungry Sloane Ranger. There was also playboy Prince Andrew, horsey Princess Anne, petulant teenager Prince Edward, tipsy Princess Margaret, truffle-snuffling Fergie and senile Queen Mother, who was generally seen with a bottle of Gordon's Gin, a copy of the Racing Post and a Beryl Reid voice; this was a running joke from a sketch in which the royal family's desire to conceal her Birmingham accent was the reason she was very seldom heard speaking on television. International politicians Spitting Image also managed to devote some time to lampooing foreign politicians, the most prominent being U.S. President Ronald Reagan who was portrayed as a bumbling, nuke -obsessed fool with a literally missing brain. His wife Nancy was the butt of many cosmetic surgery jokes. Alongside Reagan were block-headed Ed Meese and Caspar Weinberger, whose face resembles the features of a shark .

During the Irangate scandal, Reagan was also assisted by Oliver North, constantly denying everything and maintaining secrecy to such extents he would ask for his breakfast to be shredded. Soon after Reagan came George H. W. Bush and his "running-away" mate, Dan Quayle. The Bush puppet made several retroactive Bushisms ("I'm not exasparating when I state our mission is of the upmost impotence"), and eventually grew so tired of Quayle's gaffes and errors that he had him launched into space. Other international caricatures included the banjo-playing Pope John Paul II , who didn't even believe in God and spoke with a Texan accent. Another religious character was the booming Ian Paisley, so intent on ridding the world of Gerry Adams that he would frequently demand that God (portrayed as a wishy-washy liberal) would kill him. More characters included the ancient Konstantin Chernenko, who died several times in the show and was eventually replaced by the hip-and-swinging Mikhail Gorbachev . P.W. Botha appeared regularly, lampooned by the show for his policy of Aparteid (in one episode, he wakes up to discover he has turned black overnight).

Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi appeared in the mid-80s after the American bombing of Libya . Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini also made some appearances, and was the subject of an argument among producers who were unsure if Khomeini should speak Iranian, English or English with an American accent. Sport Fluck and Law were big sporting aficiandos, and Spitting Image regularly devoted some airtime for sporting heroes. England captain Bobby Robson was a senile worrier nicknamed 'Rubbisho' by his team, while Bryan Robson was portrayed as being extremely fragile - in one sketch, his most recent football injury is a severed head. Ian Botham was a violent drug addict, while colleague Mike Gatting spoke with an extremely high voice. Lester Piggott spoke so nasally, he had to be subtitled. Boxing characters included Frank Bruno with his trademark laugh and catchphrase "where's 'Arry?" and Chris Eubank, with his lisp and upper-class accent. Steve Davis was mind-numbingly boring, but thought himself to be an interesting character. Davis was reportedly thankful for the puppet, saying it had made him seem less like a 'winning machine' and more human.

Celebrities Spitting Image did not restrict itself to just politicians, and managed to parody many celebrities in the public eye. The list of characters is far too numerous to mention (the Best of Spitting Image documentary purports it to be at about 900+), but many characters were to become synonymous with the show. David Coleman was a popular character, parodied for his easily-excitable demeanour and rapid speech. One sketch has him getting so excited his head explodes. News reporters were also personified with latex puppets. Alastair Burnet was the most prominent, always sycophantic towards the Royal Family and with a nose that randomly inflated. Sandy Gall was portrayed as effeminate, with a camp voice and always worrying about what coat he would wear during his next report. John Cole was virtually incomprehensible and often had to be dragged off-screen or hit over the head when he talked for too long. Nicholas Witchell was omnipresent, always turning up during a strike to work as a scab labourer rather than a reporter. Kate Adie was portrayed as a thrill-seeker, assigned to the fictional post of BBC Head of Bravery. TV hosts were also parodied.

Frank Bough was constantly stoned, while his co-host Selina Scott was thick. Terry Wogan was all-Irish ("top o' the ratings to y'!") and Bernard Manning was an obese racist. Melvyn Bragg, rather than interviewing the high-ranking social elite he often interviews, settled for celebrities like Ronnie Hazlehurst and the "Yorrick" skull from Hamlet . Many sketches about David Attenborough revolved around his apparent ability to talk to animals - in one sketch, he even has to go into an anteater's dressing room and convince him to come out and take part in the show. Gap - toothed Jimmy Tarbuck, who ended every sentence with "Ho-Ho!" or "Boom-boom", appeared alongside badly wigged Bruce Forsyth, who spoke every sentence as though it was a catchphrase . It was not uncommon for celebrities to hate their puppets. Film critic Barry Norman - who would open his sketches with a string of word-play links and cliches, as well as his catchphrase "and why not?" - has been quoted many times as not being a fan of his puppet, mostly because it had a large fictitious wart on its forehead.

Paul Daniels did not mind the numerous jokes about his wig , but took offence to a sketch depicting him nuzzling his assistant Debbie McGee's breasts, which he felt was demeaning. Donald Sinden, portrayed as a 'ham' actor and constantly craving a knighthood, also hated the show. Musicians were parodied too (see 'Songs' for more). Mick Jagger seemed perpetually high, and his colleague Keith Richards was so old and haggard that he thought he was dead. Ringo Starr was a drunkard and Paul McCartney was always releasing albums and films that flopped instantly. Madonna changed her hairstyle and clothes with every episode, and Michael Jackson 's skin turned lighter and lighter - the puppet starts off as an African-American but slowly turns Albino over the course of the show. The show also took shots at movie stars. Dustin Hoffman spoke very nasally and was parodied for his method acting - in one sketch, he manages to amalgamate all of his most famous roles into one by demanding he play "a short, divorced gay woman who's mentally retarded". Senior actors John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier were always lamenting the deaths of their friends, even lamenting their own death at times.

Sylvester Stallone was portrayed as being all-brawn but no-brain, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was huge and muscle-bound, but very insecure about the size of his genitals. Frequently, the producers would have encounters with celebrities who enjoyed their puppets to such an extent, they wanted to be in on the joke. Jeffrey Archer purportedly sent tapes of his voice to the recording studio to help the impressionists get his voice right. Chris Evans, more notably, phoned up many times, asking if he can voice his own puppet and promising not to interfere with unflattering material. He was turned down. The songs The first single from Spitting Image, released in 1984, was a rework of the Ronettes' Da Do Run Run. The Spitting Image version, Da Do Run Ron, was a spoof election campaign song for Ronald Reagan, featuring Nancy Reagan listing reasons why "you gotta re-elect him", with lyrics like "Yeah! He can really act, Yeah! He lowered income tax, Yeah! He hates the Warsaw Pact". The cover of the single featured Reagan as a biker with Nancy riding pillion.

The B-side of this single was another rework of an existing song, namely Just A Girl Who Can't Say No from the musical Oklahoma. The Spitting Image team's version was entitled Just A Prince Who Can't Say No and poked fun at the sexual indiscretions of Prince Andrew. In 1986, the Spitting Image puppets had a number one hit in the UK charts with "The Chicken Song", parodying "Agadoo" by Black Lace – one of several parodies to have featured in the programme, mimicking moronic holiday songs with an annoyingly unforgettable tune and completely nonsensical lyrics. The Chicken Song hit number 1 in the charts for 3 weeks from 17 May 1986 – 3 June 1986 and VH1 US named it as one of the worst number 1 nominations.

The other songs released by Spitting Image were "I've Never Met A Nice South African" (which was on the B-Side of "The Chicken Song" and was a savage indictment of the apartheid -ridden country), "We're Scared Of Bob" and "Hello You Must Be Going" (on the 12" release of The Chicken Song), "Santa Claus Is On The Dole" (backed with "The Atheist Tabernacle Choir"), "The Christmas Singles" and "Cry Gazza Cry". "The Chicken Song" was by far the most successful of all of their music and not-so-subtle references were made to it in subsequent sketches in the show itself. In 1986, a compilation LP "Spit In Your Ear" was produced, featuring some of their sketches over time along with a few of their songs, followed in 1990 by "20 Great Golden Gobs", a songs-only collection from the 1986-1990 series.

In 1986, the Spitting Image team experienced some "real" musical success when they created the video for "Land of Confusion" by Genesis, a song which implied that Thatcher and Reagan were about to bring the world to a nuclear war. Phil Collins saw a disfigured version of himself on the show and contacted the show's producers with the idea to produce the video. The video was depicted as a nightmare Reagan was having, which left him completely immersed in sweat from worrying. The end of the 1987 election featured a young boy, dressed as a city banker, singing "Tomorrow Belongs To Me", a parody of the film Cabaret, when a member of the Hitler Youth starts singing the same song. In one instance Sting was persuaded to sing a re-worded version of "Every Breath You Take", titled "Every Bomb You Make", to accompany a video showing the Spitting Image puppets of world leaders and political figures of the day, usually with the figure matching the altered lyrics "Every wall you build, Every one you've killed, Every grave you've filled, all the blood you've spilled, I'll be watching you." The video ended with the grim reaper appearing in front of a sunset.

This version was due to be resurrected by Sting at the Live8 concert, and the parody lyrics were cleared with their writers Quentin Reynolds and James Glen, but plans were abandoned at the last minute. Other musical parodies featured Michael Jackson, Kylie Minogue, The Monkees, Pulp , Suede , Pet Shop Boys, Oasis, ZZ Top, Prince and Barbra Streisand . Video and DVD releases The programme was first released on video in 1986 with a total of three videos ("Spit With Polish", A Floppy Mass Of Blubber" & "Rubber Thingies"). All carried a 15 certificate and were reissued in 1988. The three videos were compilations of clips from the first two series. Another Spitting Image video released in 1988 was "Rockin' Ronnie", but did not mention Spitting Image on the box. This special was made exclusively for video and cannot be found anywhere else. Video 5 released in 1989 by Central Video, contained the specials "Bumbledown: The Life & Times Of Ronald Reagan" and "The Sound Of Maggie".

Next was a video containing a collection of the music videos from the programme, titled "The Classic Music Video Vol 1", released in 1991 by Central Video under The Video Collection Ltd (VCI or 2entertain); there was never a Volume 2. A compilation of sketches from 1990 & 1991 (series 11-14) was next, titled "Is Nothing Sacred?", released in 1992 by Surprise Video. In 1996 FA to Fairplay was released on VHS, later reissued on DVD in 2005. Made specially for video, it provided an alternative look at the 1996 European football championship held in England. The first eight series including An 11-disc set (containing the first 7 series broadcast 1984-89) have been released by Network, so far,. The ninth series is due in 2010.

Staff Voices The voices were provided by prominent British impressionists (some were not so well known at the time), including: Chris Barrie (Arnold Rimmer in Red Dwarf) (1984 - 1991) Roger Blake (plays Duke of Edinburgh /Jim Royle in Big Impression) (1990 - 1996) Rory Bremner (Bremner, Bird and Fortune) (1987) Phil Cornwell (Dead Ringers) (1993 - 1996) Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge) (1988 - 1993) Jon Culshaw (Dead Ringers, 2DTV) (1994 - 1996) Hugh Dennis (The Mary Whitehouse Experience) (1989 - 1992) (Mock The Week) Harry Enfield (1985 - 1991) Mark Burton (1985 - 1993) Kevin Cecil (''The Armando Ianucci Shows'') (1993 - 1996) Paul John Clark - Journalist and Writer (Rory Bremner, ''Kate and

 Ted's Show'', ''The New Politics: The May Revolution, Weekending'', Hale and Pace) Richard Curtis (''Blackadder, Four Weddings and a Funeral'' etc.) (1984 - 1985) Terence Dackombe (''Weekending, News Huddlines, Friday Night Live, etc.) (1984 - 1989) Chris Edge Ben Elton (''Blackadder, The Young Ones'') (1984 - 1985) Stevie Fowler Dan Gaster Patrick Gallagher (co-creator, co-writer and graphic designer on '' Round the Bend '', a children's puppet show produced by ''Hat Trick Productions'' with puppets made by the ''Spitting Image'' Workshop.) Rob Grant (''Red Dwarf'') (1984 - 1986) Sean Hardie Ray Harris(1987 - 1993) (''Babyblair'') Ian Hislop ('' Private Eye , Have I Got News For You, My Dad's the Prime Minister'') (1984 - 1989) Will Ing (''The Now Show'') Donnie Kerr David Kind (Hale and

 Pace) Wayne Kline Doug Naylor (''Red Dwarf'') (1984 - 1986) Henry Naylor (1984 - 1986) Nick Newman (''Private Eye'') (1984 - 1989) John O'Farrell (author of ''Things Can Only Get Better'', etc.) (1984 - 1993) Andy Parsons (1993 - 1996) Les Bouffons de la Confédération (Léman Bleu) & (La Télé) In the United States In an attempt to crack the American market, there were some attempts to produce a US version of the show, with a 45-minute 'made for market' show by the original Spitting Image team, entitled Spitting Image: Down And Out In The White House was produced in 1986 by Central for NBC.

Introduced by David Frost, it departed from the sketch-based format in favour of an overall storyline involving the upcoming (at that time) Presidential election. The plot involved a conspiracy to replace Ronald Reagan with a double (actually actor Dustin Hoffman in disguise). This plan was hatched by the Famous Corporation, a cabal of the ultra-rich headed by Johnny Carson's foil Ed McMahon (in the show, Carson was his ineffectual left-hand man) who met in a secret cavern hollowed out behind the facade of Mount Rushmore. Eventually, their plot foiled, the famous corporation activated their escape pod - Abraham Lincoln's nose - and left Earth for another planet, but (in a homage to the beginning of the Star Wars movies) were destroyed during a collision with 'a nonsensical prologue in gigantic lettering'. The show was not very successful with its target audience, possibly because its humour was still very British and it was so irreverent about Ronald Reagan at a time when he was enormously popular with the American public.

It did, however, receive great praise from critics and it was followed by two more TV specials, The Ronnie & Nancy Show (also satirising the Reagans) and The 1987 Movie Awards, satirising the Academy Awards. The American puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft later had a degree of success with a vaguely satirical show called D.C. Follies which ran from 1987 to 1989, was clearly inspired by Spitting Image, but was far less acerbic in its humor. They also released a video with the satirical documentary Bumbledown: The Life and Times of Ronald Reagan and a musical based very loosely on West Side Story called The Sound Of Maggie. (Wikipedia) Spitting Image — Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and photos at Last.fm genius Spitting Image was a satirical puppet show that ran on the United Kingdom's ITV television network from 1984 to 1996. The programme was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central. In 1986, the Spitting Image puppets had a number one hit in the UK charts with The Chicken Song.

Other songs released by Spitting Image were I've Never Met A Nice South African (which was on the B-Side of The Chicken Song and was a savage indictment of the apartheid-ridden… read more Spitting Image | MP3 Play Music | Listen Play and Download any songs comedy funk genius humour parody [1] Spitting Image was a satirical puppet show that ran on the United Kingdom's ITV television network from 1984 to 1996. The programme was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central. In 1986, the Spitting Image puppets had a number one hit in the UK charts with The Chicken Song. Other songs released by Spitting Image were I've Never Met A Nice South African (which was on the B-Side of The Chicken Song and was a savage indictment of the apartheid-ridden country), Santa Claus Is On The Dole, The Atheist Tabernacle Choir and We've Got Beards (which poked fun at ZZ Top). The Chicken Song was by far the most successful of all of their music and not-so-subtle references were made to it in subsequent sketches in the show itself.

An LP was produced, featuring some of their sketches over time along with a few of their songs. Spitting Image was also famous for the notorious song We're Scared Of Bob in 1986. Other musical parodies featured Michael Jackson, Kylie Minogue, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Prince. In only one instance, the parody was sung by the original artist. This was when Sting was persuaded to sing the Spitting Image version of Every Breath You Take. [2] A punk band from Reno, Nevada. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; addition... Related Artist Watch Spitting Image Online Watch Stream Online: Full Show Summary Spitting Image was a satirical puppet show that ran on Britain's ITV television network from 1984 to 1996. The programme was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central. The puppets, caricaturing public figures often including British and American politicians and celebrities, were designed by the cartoonists Peter Fluck and Roger Law (who sometimes spoonerised their names as 'Luck and Flaw').

They were assisted by various young caricaturists including David Stoten, Steve Bendelack, Tim Watts, Pablo Bach, Christopher Sharrock (who coined the internal name fo r the show: "Splitting Headache") and Oscar da Costa and virtually every successful British impressionist of the time. Musical parodies were provided by Philip Pope, and later Steve Brown. The first series was not as vicious with the writing and songs more similar to the tone of established comedy revue shows such as Weekending. As the Thatcher administration became less popular through 1985 the characterisations became harsher and the show grew in popularity. Despite this, many politicians had an ambivalent attitude to the show, realising that to be caricatured on it was a form of recognition which was perhaps preferable to total obscurity. It was said that while many of those who were viciously lampooned would kill to get off the show, there were others who would kill to get on it. Ultimately, many political figures accepted the show had a purpose and a benefit “ Currie, Hattersley and Michael Portillo were among its biggest fans, even though they were frequently treated without kindness by it.

In 1986, the Spitting Image puppets had a number one hit in the UK charts with "The Chicken Song", parodying "Agadoo" by Black Lace “ one of several parodies to have featured in the programme. They also appeared in the video for Land Of Confusion by Genesis, a song which implied that Thatcher and Reagan were about to bring the world to a nuclear war. The video was depicted as a nightmare Reagan was having, which left him completely immersed in sweat from worrying. To this day, if most Americans know of Spitting Image at all, it is due to that Genesis video; however, in an attempt to crack the American market, a feature-length special entitled Spitting Image : Down And Out In The White House was produced in 1986 by Central for NBC. Introduced by David Frost, it departed from the sketch-based format in favour of an overall storyline involving the upcoming (at that time) Presidential election. It was not successful with its target audience, possibly because its humour was still very British and it was so irreverent about Ronald Reagan at a time when he was enormously popular with the American public.

The American puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft later had a degree of success with a vaguely satirical show called DC Follies which ran from 1987 to 1989, was clearly inspired by Spitting Image and utilised Muppet-style foam puppets rather than rubbery caricatures, but it didn't come anywhere close to being as savage and vitriolic as Spitting Image. Former producer John Lloyd was in talks with ITV in the spring of 2005 to bring Spitting Image back to the screen, but the attempt failed, reportedly over the cost of its revival and the non-involvement of Roger Law, one of the show's original creators. more less Top 100 Songs of 1986 Top 100 Songs of 1986 Derived from Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits The Bangles; "Greatest Love Of All," Whitney Houston; "The Next Time I Fall," Peter Cetera 1. "That's What Friends Are For".....Dionne & Friends 2. "Walk Like An Egyptian".....Bangles 3. "On My Own".....Patti Labelle & Michael McDonald 4.

"The Way It Is".....Bruce Hornsby & The Range 5. "You Give Love A Bad Name".....Bon Jovi 6. "Greatest Love Of All".....Whitney Houston 7. "There'll Be Sad Songs".....Billy Ocean 8. "How Will I Know".....Whitney Houston 9. "Kyrie".....Mr. Mister 11. "The Next Time I Fall".....Peter Cetera & Amy Grant 12. "Burning Heart".....Survivor 13. "Stuck With You".....Huey Lewis & The News 14. "When I Think Of You".....Janet Jackson 15. "Rock Me Amadeus".....Falco 16. "West End Girls".....Pet Shop Boys 17. "Sledgehammer".....Peter Gabriel 21. "Glory Of Love".....Peter Cetera 22. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight".....Wang Chung 23. "Friends And Lovers".....Gloria Loring & Carl Anderson 24. "Conga".....Miami Sound Machine 27. "Addicted To Love".....Robert Palmer 28.

"I Can't Wait".....Nu Shooz 29. "What Have You Done For Me Lately".....Janet Jackson 30. "Venus".....Bananarama 32. "Take My Breath Away".....Berlin 33. "These Dreams".....Heart 34. "Holding Back The Years".....Simply Red 35. "Walk Of Life".....Dire Straits 36. "Dancing On The Ceiling".....Lionel Richie 37. "Amanda".....Boston 40. "Talk To Me".....Stevie Nicks 41. "Mad About You".....Belinda Carlisle 42. "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)".....Glass Tiger 43. "When The Going Gets Tough".....Billy Ocean 44. "Why Can't This Be Love".....Van Halen 45. "Danger Zone".....Kenny Loggins 46. "Crush On You".....The Jets 47. "Hip To Be Square".....Huey Lewis & The News 48. "Manic Monday".....Bangles 50.

"If You Leave".....Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Everybody Have Fun Tonight," Wang Chung; "Danger Zone,"Kenny Loggins; "No One To Blame," Howard Jones 51. "Word Up".....Cameo 53. "No One Is To Blame".....Howard Jones 54. "To Be A Lover".....Billy Idol 55. "Throwing It All Away".....Genesis 56. "Your Love".....The Outfield 57. "Something About You".....Level 42 58. "Let's Go All The Way".....Sly Fox 59. "Tonight She Comes".....The Cars 60. "Typical Male".....Tina Turner 62. "R.O.C.K. In The USA".....John Cougar Mellencamp 63. "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On".....Robert Palmer 64. "Who's Johnny".....El DeBarge 65. "Two Of Hearts".....Stacey Q 67. "Stand By Me".....Ben E. King 68.

"We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off".....Jermaine Stewart 69. "Take Me Home Tonight".....Eddie Money 70. "Sweet Freedom".....Michael McDonald 72. "Words Get In The Way".....Miami Sound Machine 73. "Love Touch".....Rod Stewart 74. "All I Need Is A Miracle".....Mike + The Mechanics 75. "Rumors".....Times Social Club 76. "Silent Running".....Mike + The Mechanics 77. "All Cried Out".....Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam w/ Full Force 78. "Don't Get Me Wrong".....Pretenders 79. "Baby Love".....Regina 80. "Spies Like Us".....Paul McCartney 81. "True Blue".....Madonna 82. "Living In America".....James Brown 83. "Take Me Home".....Phil Collins 84. "Dreamtime".....Daryl Hall 85. "Bad Boy".....Miami Sound Machine 86. "Heartbeat".....Don Johnson 88. "King For A Day".....Thompson Twins 89.

"A Different Corner".....George Michael 90. "Love Will Conquer All".....Lionel Richie 91. "Life In A Northern Town".....The Dream Academy 92. "Go Home".....Stevie Wonder 94. "Your Wildest Dreams".....The Moody Blues 95. "Is It Love".....Mr. Mister 96. "You Should Be Mine".....Jeffrey Osborne 97. "Harlem Shuffle".....Rolling Stones 100. "The Rain".....Oran "Juice" Jones "Word Up," Cameo; "Let's Go All The Way," Sly Fox 1986's Number Ones (Includes the date the song reached the top of Billboard's Hot 100, and the duration of its stay there.) "That's What Friends Are For," Dionne and Friends 18 January 1986/4 weeks Originally penned by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager and recorded by Rod Stewart for the 1982 film Night Shift, this song was presented to Warwick three years later.

Warwick and Stevie Wonder were in the studio recording the song as a duet when Sager got the idea to donate the proceeds to AmFar (American Foundation for AIDS Research); Gladys Knight and Elton John were brought on board virtually at the last minute. "How Will I Know," Whitney Houston 15 February 1986/2 weeks Songwriters George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam were signed to A&M Records as Boy Meets Girl when they were asked to submit songs for Janet Jackson. Jackson passed on "How Will I Know," but execs at Arista snapped it up for Whitney Houston's debut album as a likely pop crossover hit. Whitney's mother Cissy sang backing vocals, and the song knocked Houston's first cousin Dionne Warwick out of the # 1 spot -- only the third time in the rock era that an artist succeeded a blood relative at the top of the Hot 100. "Kyrie," Mr. Mister 1 March 1986/2 weeks Mr. Mister's second # 1 single (the first being "Broken Wings"), "Kyrie" was written a year before it was recorded, while the band was on tour with Adam Ant.

Kyrie eleison is Greek for "Lord have mercy." "Sara," Starship 15 March 1986/1 week Originally named Jefferson Airplane, this band was formed in 1965 and, in the mid-Seventies was reincarnated as Jefferson Starship. The departure of Paul Kantner in 1984 led to a third name change. In all that time, the band never had a # 1 hit, until Knee Deep in the Hoopla produced two -- this one and "We Built This City." "These Dreams," Heart 22 March 1986/1 week After eight albums without a Top 10 hit, Heart was willing to listen to producer Ron Nevison's ideas for crafting a commercial record. For the first time, most of the songs on a Heart album were written by outsiders, in this case Martin Page and Bernie Taupin (who also wrote "We Built This City"). Heart had three consecutive Top 10 hits off the album (Heart), and "These Dreams" was the group's first # 1. It was dedicated to a fan who died of cancer at the age of 21.

"Rock Me Amadeus," Falco 29 March 1986/3 weeks The Austrian musical prodigy was inspired to write a song about Wolfgang Mozart after watching Milo Forman's film Amadeus. Falco wrote "Der Kommissar" in 1981, which became an American chart hit for the British band After the Fire. "Rock Me Amadeus" was followed by another Top 20 song for Falco, "Vienna Calling." "Kiss," Prince 19 April 1986/2 week When "Kiss" hit the top of the Hot 100, Prince became the fifth songwriter to hold that chart's top two positions simultaneously; # 2 that week was "Manic Monday," performed by The Bangles but written by "Christopher" -- one of several Prince pseudonyms. "Addicted To Love," Robert Palmer 3 May 1986/1 week This was Palmer's first # 1 hit -- and it was almost a duet with Chaka Khan. They recorded the song together, but later her management decided against the project and her vocals were erased.

The lyrics, according to Palmer (who wrote the tune), address the problems of an addictive personality. "West End Girls," Pet Shop Boys 10 May 1986/1 week This song became a hit in 1984 in Belgium and France, but failed to chart in Britain. The following year, the Pet Shop Boys (Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe), went back to the studio and recorded a new version, which soared to the top of the charts in both the UK and the U.S. "Greatest Love Of All," Whitney Houston 17 May 1986/3 weeks Originally written for a film about Muhammad Ali entitled The Greatest, this song was one of those performed by Houston during her audition for Clive Davis, president of Arista Records. It was done by George Benson on the soundtrack and issued as a single, but did not chart. On the B side of Houston's "You Give Good Love," the tune was never pegged as a single, but extensive radio airplay changed all that -- and Houston had three # 1 songs from her debut album, a first for a female solo artist.

"Live To Tell," Madonna 7 June 1986/1 week Written by Patrick Leonard -- musical director for the Virgin tour -- and Madonna, this song was intended initially for the soundtrack of a movie called Fire With Fire. But Paramount Pictures passed on the tune, and Madonna arranged for it to be included in the score of boyfriend Sean Penn's film, At Close Range. "Live To Tell" was the fifth single to hit # 1 without being available on an album, and was Madonna's second chart-topper from a movie (the first being "Crazy For You" from Vision Quest.) "On My Own," Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald 14 June 1986/2 weeks Another # 1 hit from the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and wife Carole Bayer Sager. After Patti LaBelle's producer Richard Perry failed to cut a track he liked, Bacharach and Sager produced it themselves. After LaBelle put her vocals on, Sager thought it would be a perfect song for a duet. Warner Brothers allowed Michael McDonald to add his vocals since "On My Own" wasn't intended as a single.

Both the vocals and the subsequent video were done without LaBelle and McDonald ever actually working together. "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)," Billy Ocean 5 July 1986/1 week Released before Ocean's second Jive Records album, Love Zone, reached the record stores, this tune became the artist's fifth Top 5 single in 20 months, and his second chart-topper -- the first being "Caribbean Queen" in 1984. With his collaborators Barry Eastmond and Wayne Brathwaite, Ocean wrote eight of the nine tracks on the album; four of them became Top 20 songs. "Holding Back The Years," Simply Red 12 July 1986/1 week Mick Hucknall wrote this song when he was 19 -- seven years before it became a chart-topper. Though the band's soulful sound did not endear it to the British press, Simply Red impressed people in the American soul music scene; the band was asked to open for James Brown, and Diana Ross requested that Hucknall write a song for her next album.

"Invisible Touch," Genesis 19 July 1986/1 week Incredibly, past and present members of Genesis accounted for seven of the Hot 100 songs in the last week of July, 1986, as either artists or producers. Aside from "Invisible Touch" there was Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" and the Phil Collins-produced hit "No One Is To Blame" by Howard Jones, there was Collins' "Take Me Home" and Mike Rutherford's two singles, "All I Need Is A Miracle" and "Taken In." The seventh was Steve Hackett and GTR's "When The Heart Rules The Mind." The Invisible Touch album produced five Top 10 songs, including two # 3's ("Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" and "In Too Deep") and two # 4's ("Throwing It All Away" and "Land Of Confusion").

"Sledgehammer," Peter Gabriel 26 July 1986/1 week Written, according to Gabriel, as a salute to the '60s soul that had so inspired him as a teenager, "Sledgehammer" featured a brass section led by Wayne Jackson, whom Gabriel had seen perform, twenty years earlier, in South London's Ram Jam Club. Gabriel decided that very night that he "wanted to be a musician for life." "Glory Of Love," Peter Cetera 2 August 1986/2 weeks Peter Cetera had been with Chicago for 18 years, and penned both the band's chart-toppers ("If You Leave Me Now" and "Hard To Say I'm Sorry"), when he set out on a solo career. His wife Diane Nini helped him finish "Glory Of Love," which was chosen for The Karate Kid II soundtrack. "Papa Don't Preach," Madonna 16 August 1986/2 weeks Madonna knew she had a controversial song on her hands with "Papa Don't Preach," the story of an unwed and pregnant teenager, and she was right.

The Pro-Life League adopted the song as its anthem, while pro-choice advocates criticized the artist for its message. Co-writer Brian Elliot commented that if Madonna influenced young girls to keep their babies, what was so bad about that? "Higher Love," Steve Winwood 30 August 1986/1 week Winwood and songwriter Will Jennings had collaborated on four songs for the former's second solo album, Arc of a Diver (1980), including the # 7 hit "While You See A Chance." On Back in the High Life, the two men wrote five of the eight tracks, including this, the first single. Chaka Khan provided backing vocals, while her drummer, John Robinson, provided the distinctive acoustic drums. "Venus," Bananarama 6 September 1986/1 week The original version, by the Dutch group Shocking Blue, was a # 1 hit in 1970, and it was one of the songs Siobahn Fahey, Keren Wood and Sarah Dallin would perform when they first started rehearsing together.

The song was produced by the hitmakers Matt Aitkin, Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, who had produced hits by Dead or Alive and Rick Astley. "Venus" was only the fourth song of the rock era to be # 1 twice by two different artists. "Take My Breath Away," Berlin 13 September 1986/1 week This song won an Oscar for Best Original Song, and was the second tune written by Giorgio Morodor and Tom Whitlock for the film Top Gun. (The other was "Danger Zone," performed by Kenny Loggins; it peaked at # 2 on the Hot 100.) "Take My Breath Away" was Berlin's only hit song -- the group was always more interested in doing more album-oriented rock. "Stuck With You," Huey Lewis and the News 20 September 1986/3 weeks After the huge success of their Sports album, Huey Lewis and the News felt intense pressure to come up with another hit or two. After listening to six months worth of work on new material, manager Bob Brown told the group that they still didn't have that hit song.

Lead guitarist Chris Hayes went home and wrote the music for "Stuck With You" in just a few hours, and the News had another chart-topper on their hands. "When I Think Of You," Janet Jackson 11 October 1986/2 weeks Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, formerly of the Time (until Prince fired them), had written the tunes used on Janet Jackson's Control album even before they were signed on to produce it. The songs had originally been intended for the debut solo effort of Atlantic Starr vocalist Sharon Bryant. But Bryant thought the tracks weren't right for her. The first five singles from Control made it into the Top Five. Janet and Michael Jackson became the first siblings to both have solo # 1 singles. "True Colors," Cyndi Lauper 25 October 1986/2 weeks Lauper's first album had produced four consecutive Top Five songs in 1984, so the pressure was on when she went into the studio to create her sophomore album, True Colors.

Written by the team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, who had penned Madonna's # 1, "Like A Virgin," "True Colors" was the only song on the album that Lauper didn't have a hand in writing. Kelly and Steinberg had previously pitched the tune to Kenny Rogers and Anne Murray. "Amanda," Boston 8 November 1986/2 weeks It took Boston six years to complete their third album, Third Stage -- so long, in fact, that CBS (which owned Epic Records) sued the band for breach of contract. A bootleg version of "Amanda" -- which was actually written by the band's founder, Tom Scholz, in 1980 -- circulated two or three years before the album was released. "Human," Human League 22 November 1986/1 week Dissatisfied after working for nine months with British producer Colin Thurston, Human League switched to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (see "When I Think Of You," above).

Band member Phil Oakey wrote six of the ten songs on the Crash album, but it was Jimmy and Terry who penned "Human" -- a song that gave Human League their second chart-topper, four years after the first #1, "Don't You Want Me." "You Give Love A Bad Name," Bon Jovi 29 November 1986/1 week For their third album, Slippery When Wet, the New Jersey-based band turned to Loverboy producer Bruce Fairbairn and songwriter Desmond Child, who collaborated with band members Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora to pen this, the first release from the album, and the group's first chart-topper. "The Next Time I Fall," Peter Cetera & Amy Grant 6 December 1986/1 week Peter Cetera had two # 1 hits with his first two singles as a post-Chicago solo artist, the second this ballad written by Bobby Caldwell and Paul Gordon. The decision to make it a duet with Christian singer Amy Grant was a calculated career move that paid off, big time -- and launched Grant as a viable pop artist.

"The Way It Is," Bruce Hornsby and the Range 13 December 1986/1 week Bruce Hornsby never thought his music would interest the major record labels. And he didn't thnk "The Way It Is," one of the four songs on the demo tape that sold RCA on the band, was hit single material. He was wrong on both counts. In fact, though the band would have great success throughout the late Eighties, this would be their only chart-topper. "Walk Like An Egyptian," Bangles 20 December 1986/4 weeks The third release from the Different Light album became, according to Billboard, the # 1 single for the year 1987. It was also the girl band's first of two chart-toppers. (The other was "Eternal Flame.") 1986's Top 50 in the UK * Number One songs The Communards, Mel & Kim, Berlin 1. "Don't Leave Me This Way," The Communards* 2. "Every Loser Wins," Nick Berry* 3. "I Want To Wake Up With You," Boris Gardiner* 4.

"Living Doll," Cliff Richard & The Young Ones* 5. "Chain Reaction," Diana Ross* 6. "The Lady In Red," Chris De Burgh* 7. "When The Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going)," Billy Ocean* 8. "Papa Don't Preach," Madonna* 9. "Take My Breath Away," Berlin* 10. ""So Macho"/"Cruising," Sinitta 12. "A Different Corner," George Michael* 13. "Rock Me Amadeus," Falco* 14. "We Don't Have To," Jermaine Stewart 15. "Spirit In The Sky," Dr & The Medics* 16. "The Final Countdown," Europe* 17. ""Real Petite (The Sweetest Girl In Town)," Jackie Wilson* 18. "Rain Or Shine," Five Star 19. "Caravan Of Love," The Housemartins* 20. "The Chicken Song," Spitting Image* 21. "The Sun Always Shines on T.V.," a-ha* 22. "On My Own," Patti LaBelle * Michael McDonald 23.

"Walk Like An Egyptian," The Bangles 24. "In The Army Now," Status Quo 25. "Lesson In Love," Level 42 26. "Glory Of Love," Peter Cetera 27. "The Edge Of Heaven," Wham!* 28. "Sledgehammer," Peter Gabriel 29. "All I Ask Of You," Cliff Richard & Sarah Brightman 30. "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)," Samantha Fox 31. "Wonderful World," Sam Cooke 32. "A Kind Of Magic," Queen 33. "Holding Back The Years," Simply Red 34. "You Keep Me Hangin' On," Kim Wilde 35. "Let's Go All The Way," Sly Fox 36. "Word Up," Cameo 37. "Manic Monday," The Bangles 38. "I Can't Wait," Nu Shooz 39. "My Favourite Waste Of Time," Owen Paul 40. "You Can Call Me Al," Paul Simon 41. "Livin' On A Prayer," Bon Jovi 42. "Sometimes," Erasure 43.

"Showing Out," Mel & Kim 44. "I Just Died In Your Arms," Cutting Crew 45. "You To Me Are Everything," The Real Thing 46. "Happy Hour," The Housemartins 47. "Starting Together," Su Pollard 48. "Thorn In My Side," The Eurythmics 49. "The Walk Of Life," Dire Straits 50. "Borderline," Madonna SPITTING IMAGE Lyrics | eLyrics.net Spitting Image Lyrics (1-2 of 2 song lyrics) Average rating for Spitting Image songs is 6.00/10 [1 votes]. Selected popular Spitting Image song of Friday, January 20 2017 is "The Chicken Song". click on the album covers to see the lyrics inside the album Icon Alive - EP The Chicken Song I've Never Met A Nice South African Related Information for Spitting Image Spitting Image was a satirical puppet show that ran on the United Kingdom's ITV television network from 1984 to 1996.

The programme was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central.In 1986, the Spitting Image puppets had a number one hit in the UK charts with The Chicken Song.Other songs released by Spitting Image were I've Never Met A Nice South African (which was on the B-Side of The Chicken Song and was a savage indictment of the apartheid-ridden c.. read more The Chicken Song | Spitting Image Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Spitting Image -The Chicken Song It’s the time of year, now that Spring is in the air, When those two wet gits, with their girly, curly hair, Make another song for moronic holidays, That nauseate hate, hate in a million different ways, From the shores of Spain, to the coast of Southern France, No matter where you hide, you just can’t escape this dance… Hold a chicken in the air, stick a deckchair up your nose, Buy a jumbo jet, and then bury all your clothes! Paint your left knee green, then extract your wisdom teeth, Form a string quartet, and pretend your name is Keith! Skin yourself alive, learn to speak Arapahoe, Climb inside a dog, and behead an Eskimo!

Eat a Renault Four, with salami in your ears, Casserole your Gran, disembowel yourself with spears! The disco is vibrating, the sound is loud and grating, It’s truly nauseating, let's do the dance again! Hold a chicken in the air, stick a deckchair up your nose, Yes; you'll hear this song in the holiday discos! And there's no escape, in the clubs or in the bars, You would hear this song, if you holidayed in Mars! Skin yourself alive, learn to speak Arapahoe, Climb inside a dog, and behead an Eskimo! Now you've heard it once, your brain will spring a leak, And though you hate this song, you'll be humming it for weeks! Hold a chicken in the air, stick a deckchair up your nose, Buy a jumbo jet, and then bury all your clothes... La la la la la...

Question: What was the name of the number one hit single by Spitting Image in 1986?
Answer: The Chicken Song